The carriage traveled for another half day before finally arriving at the Grand Duchy’s capital, Pellar.
The sight of the vast metropolis, incomparable to the rural Halo, left Penelope’s group in awe. Giselle, in particular, couldn’t take her eyes off the view outside the carriage for even a moment.
Penelope found herself curious about the infrastructure Lianel had developed in the city, but the city itself didn’t captivate her.
Her indifference stemmed from her memories of living in a hyper-modern city with skyscrapers piercing the heavens, endless cars, and a wealth of cultural, artistic, commercial, and financial institutions.
Still, even Penelope couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping when the magic-engineered train came into view. The massive silver machine stretched out in flawless symmetry, embodying the pinnacle of magical engineering and advanced civilization.
Lianel handed her a ticket stamped with a special seal.
“This is your ticket for the magic-engineered train to the capital. Show it to the conductor when you board.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Penelope accepted the ticket absentmindedly, her gaze still glued to the train.
“Living in the countryside, it felt like a medieval world, but here in the city, the level of development is on a completely different scale. I wonder what a flying ship powered by magical engineering would look like?”
Her curiosity bubbled up uncontrollably.
Noticing her fixation, Lianel smirked faintly and said, “As expected, Lady Penelope, you don’t ask any questions. Though I anticipated this.”
“Ah.”
Penelope snapped out of her daze.
“I must have been staring at the train too leisurely.”
She forced an awkward laugh and said, “I assume you must have your reasons, Lord Lianel.”
“You’re more perceptive than you let on. May I ask how much you know about me?”
“Not much?”
“......”
Lianel raised an eyebrow, a flicker of intrigue flashing in his eyes.
Penelope touched her lips, startled, and asked, “Did I just say that out loud?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what you said.”
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on ƒreewebɳovel.com.
“Haha... Is that so.”
You blabbering fool, why would you say that?
Penelope could feel a cold sweat trickling down the back of her neck.
“And yet, you’ve been addressing me by my name this whole time without my explicit permission. I don’t recall allowing that. Haha.”
“I’d still like to know how much you know about me.”
“Oh, feel free to call me by my name as much as you like! Ah! The train looks like it’s about to depart. We should hurry!”
Penelope flailed her arms and legs in a show of urgency, running toward the train with a clumsy but determined stride. Behind her, Lianel watched her retreating figure in silence.
As soon as she boarded, Penelope let out a deep sigh and glanced back out the window. Lianel was no longer looking in her direction.
“I must have looked so suspicious just now. No, no, it wasn’t that bad... right?”
She gnawed on her lower lip, trying to convince herself otherwise. But soon, her lips trembled into a pout.
As if dealing with the Empress’s unwanted attention wasn’t enough, now she had to contend with Lianel’s curiosity as well.
What’s worse, this wasn’t the first time she had caught Lianel’s interest. She remembered him looking at her with the same kind of curiosity on several prior occasions.
Thinking about it, she realized she had even received a confession from the Tower Master—a matter still unresolved.
“Is it okay for my life to spiral like this?”
She found herself increasingly entangled with the major characters of the original novel.
“And of all people, the Empress is the one I wanted to avoid the most.”
For a fleeting moment, she entertained the thought of escaping her territory altogether.
“Why are you acting like someone on the run?”
“Ah! You scared me!”
Penelope turned around with a start to find Ahwin staring at her with wide eyes.
“I’m the one who’s startled. What are you doing running off on your own? Without an escort?”
“Oh, sorry. I thought you were following me...”
“From now on, you should be more cautious. Depending on the situation, I might not be able to stay by your side.”
Ahwin pulled his hood down low over his face, his sharp gaze scanning their surroundings. It was clear he was on high alert.
In the capital, there would be no shortage of people who could recognize his true identity.
Penelope straightened herself and replied firmly, “I’ll be more careful from now on.”
***
The magic-engineered train sped along with remarkable silence and swiftness. The ride was so smooth that there was hardly any sense of vibration from the vehicle itself.
Penelope sat in a first-class compartment, gazing out the window at the passing scenery.
The compartment was a private room, and Penelope was seated alongside Ahwin, Giselle, and Lucas. The knights assigned to protect them occupied the adjacent compartment, while Lianel rode in another room with his aides.
“Wow! There’s a newspaper on the shelf! That thing over there must be some kind of communication device! I heard the conductor’s voice coming from it earlier!”
Giselle was marveling at everything about the train. She had been just as awestruck while traveling through the Grand Duchy in the carriage, but here on the train, her amazement seemed to have reached a new peak.
With a deeply moved expression, Giselle said, “I never thought I’d get to ride a train in my lifetime, let alone sit in first-class and travel to the capital. It’s all thanks to you, my lady. If only Young Master Sain could have come with us—he would’ve loved this.”
“You’re right. Next time, we’ll bring him along.”
“Really? He’d be so thrilled!”
Giselle’s voice bubbled with excitement, and Lucas, who had ridden trains before, smiled warmly at her enthusiasm.
Fortunately, it seemed both of them had recovered somewhat from the shock of the earlier assassination attempt.
Though they both seem to suspect something about Lianel’s true identity... but that’s unavoidable, Penelope thought.
She had no intention of revealing Lianel’s identity any sooner than necessary. She preferred to delay dealing with troublesome matters for as long as possible.
Ahwin, looking bored, pulled a newspaper from the shelf and began reading it. His expression remained indifferent as he scanned the articles.
Equally bored, Penelope leaned toward him curiously.
“Anything interesting in there?”
“Not really.”
“Come on, there must be something worth reading—”
“Ahhh!”
Penelope suddenly let out a startled shout, causing not only Ahwin but also Giselle and Lucas to jump in alarm.
“My lady, what’s wrong?”
“What’s going on? What happened?”
Ignoring their frantic questions, Penelope snatched the newspaper from Ahwin’s hands and read the article that had caught her attention.
“‘Durek Railway Company Finally Opens Its Gates? Railroad construction is set to begin this summer, and the company’s stock has increased a hundredfold...’ Am I reading this correctly?!”
“Uh... What’s this all about?” Lucas asked, his face puzzled as he leaned closer to see what Penelope was pointing at.
“You’re reading it correctly, my lady. But is there something wrong with this article?”
“Wrong? There’s absolutely nothing wrong! Nothing at all! Oh my goodness! We might be able to build a road from Pellar to Halo!”
“What?”
Lucas gaped at her, utterly dumbfounded.
***
It took Penelope quite a while to calm herself down, yet she couldn’t stop chuckling to herself.
She had hit the jackpot with her stock investment.
Lucas, still in disbelief, cautiously asked, “So, you’re saying, my lady, that you’ve purchased shares in the Durek Railway Company?”
“That’s right! I’m a major shareholder in the Durek Railway Company.”
“How much did you even buy to be laughing so... exuberantly?” Ahwin muttered, quickly changing his tone under Giselle’s sharp glare. Penelope didn’t care in the slightest.
Oh, heroine, I forgive you for everything now. You did it all for me. All that suffering—it was all for this moment.
Penelope burst into laughter again, prompting Lucas to clear his throat awkwardly.
“My lady?”
“Four thousand shares. That’s a total of twenty million gold. We’re rich now!”
“W-what...?”
“Oh my goodness...”
Lucas’s eyes quivered as if they might roll out of his head. Giselle covered her mouth with both hands in utter shock.
Only Ahwin remained unimpressed, his expression as indifferent as ever. As one of the wealthiest individuals on the continent, twenty million gold didn’t faze him in the slightest.
“With this kind of money, we shouldn’t have any issues building the main road from Pellar to Halo, right? What do you think?”
“It seems feasible. With that much, we could even consider laying down a railway.”
At Lucas’s response, Penelope’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“A railway? I love that idea!”
The two immediately launched into an animated discussion about development plans for the territory. Giselle listened intently for a while, but eventually, her expression grew dizzy from the sheer volume of technical and financial jargon.
Meanwhile, Ahwin stared fixedly at Penelope.
Oblivious to his gaze, Penelope continued chatting with her secretary, her expression brimming with childlike enthusiasm.
She’s endlessly fascinating, Ahwin thought.
At times, she seemed almost unbearably delicate and pure, yet at other moments, she displayed astonishing boldness and determination.
Ahwin found himself growing more captivated by Penelope with each passing day.
Once he admitted his feelings to himself, it was like a dam breaking, and he could no longer hold back the flood of emotions surging toward her.